1. A common error made by authors with regard to references is in not obeying the journal's guidelines. This tends to make reviewers more wary because it can indicate
2. your hard work in carrying out the study and writing the article, only the abstract may be read. It should therefore contain all the relevant information in the paper. To prevent it becoming uninformative or meandering, many journals now have structured abstracts. If this is the case, then the journal's guidelines must be followed. In contrast, when no such guidelines exist, Lillyman's advice should be followed, whereby the abstract is set out to answer the following questions ' 7;Even after all
3. suggesting ways in which it can be improved. A rejection postcard with no other information commonly means that the article is not considered relevant to the readership of that journal;occasionally
4. Once the points identified by the referee have been addressed you should resubmit the article or send it to another journal. In the latter case bear in mind that certain changes to the layout of the article may be necessary to comply with the new journal's house style
5. Example 1 1920 "Urban hypothermia in the west of Scotland" "Finite element analysis of the stress distributions in the proximal end of the femur after stabilisation of a pertrochanteric model fracture: a comparison of two implants